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Hints and Hindsights: La Rentrée

Hints and Hindsights: La Rentrée by Shari Leslie Segall In France, September is the Monday morning of the year. You’ve just had a 60-day weekend and it’s time to get up, grope your way to the figurative and literal shower and go to work. Even if you didn’t take all of July and August off, it’s likely that almost everyone you had to deal with during that legendarily sacred span of time was away for at least part of it, in effect giving you a double vacation: yours and the forced unproductiveness produced in your universe by theirs. Now comes la rentrée (a word for whose English translation the French desperately scramble: it literally means “reentry,” can mean “back-to-school,” but is a general reference to returning to reality after those month-long strolls on the sand, hikes in the Himalayas and reunions with relatives). And the strategy for facing it is like that of ripping off a band-aid as quickly as possible to minimize the skin-scraping pain: “Just let me get throug…

Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Daughter of Pablo, The exhibition

I recently revisited the Musée Picasso in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris and highly recommend the current temporary exhibition, entitled Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Fille de Pablo (on until 12/31/2022), held to celebrate the addition of nine new masterpieces to the national collection. Maya (a nickname, her actual name was María de la Concepción) was Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter’s daughter, born in 1935. She wasn’t Picasso’s first child — he had a son, Paulo, from a previous relationship, with Russian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. He also had two other children after Maya, with painter Françoise Gilot. The exhibition focuses on Picasso’s relationship with Maya and its influence on his work. Despite the occasionally confusing museum signage, Picasso’s relationship with his daughter is a great guiding thread through a big body of work that can be daunting at times. The museum is quite big and there is much to see, so you can easily spend three or four hours wandering the halls. Going…

Thrillers set in Paris

Paris! What a better place for mystery. Such an intriguing setting. A body found in the Seine, Cold War spies, World War II subversions and escapes, art and history crimes. There are many crime and thriller novels set in our fair city full of phantoms. Think ahead for great Paris-themed Christmas gifts. Offer your friends or family thrillers set in Paris! What a better place for a mysterious setting. Or a memoir about how funny life can be here for the expat. https://fusac.fr/anglo-authors-in-paris/ Or browse our Paris/France selection for just the right book about historic restaurants, Paris walks, Paris movies, Paris design and fashion. We have a wide variety on a special shelf. Here's a few of the thrillers set in Paris to whet your whistle. Cara Black is a bestselling American mystery writer. She is best known for her Aimée Leduc mystery novels featuring a female Paris-based private investigator. Her first novel Murder in the Marais was nominated for an Anthon…

Popcorn America’s favorite snack

USA National Popcorn month is October. (It was established 30 years ago by the Popcorn Board.) National Popcorn Day is 19 January and Popcorn Lover's Day is celebrated on March 12. Decidedly America loves popcorn and so does FUSAC. Corn itself is very American and goes way back before the first Thanksgiving. There is archaeological evidence that popcorn was available in Central America 9000 years ago. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods. Americans today grow and eat lots of corn and most of the snack foods they eat are corn based. This is different from France where many snacks are potato based. Popcorn is scientifically known as Zea mays everta. Popcorn is a whole grain and is made up of three components: the germ, endosperm, and pericarp or hull. The 4 most common types of corn are: sweet, that you can eat right off the cob; dent, more …

Two obelisks and a giraffe

Two obelisks from the entrance to Luxor Temple were offered to France by the Viceroy of Egypt in 1830. One thrones on the place de la Condorde still today. But did you know there was another precious gift from the Viceroy just a few years earlier? Rosa Bonheur moved to Paris from Bordeaux, she was 7 years old at the time and did not like Paris at all until she discovered Paris' latest phenomenon... Zarafa. In 1826 Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt, gave Zarafa (Arabic for «Giraffe», literally «charming» or «lovely one»), the first living giraffe to set foot on French soil, to Charles X as a diplomatic gift. She was separated from her mother at 3 months of age, traveled 2000 miles down the Nile, then across the Mediterranean by boat, arriving in Marseilles, where she would spend her first winter acclimatizing. The following spring, she left for Paris on a 41 day walk (880km) accompanied by 55 year old French naturalist Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Each stag…

Break in?! Pickpocketed? Theft in Paris?! Bike stolen?!

Theft in Paris?! Break in?! Pickpocketed? Emergency?! Bike stolen?!

Were you the victim of Theft in Paris? Was your apartment or vehicle broken into? Your bag or car stolen? Your home tagged with grafitti? We certainly hope not, but sometimes it is necessary to make a police declaration for theft or damage. The good news is that you can do a pre-declaration online and avoid waiting at the commissariat. Not only will you save time by not having to personally go to the station and wait in line, you can also fill out the form calmly in your own home with a dctionary handy and without pressure to speak French. Once the pre-declaration is transmitted you will be contacted within 24 hours by a police agent who will process the complaint then ask you to stop by to sign (within a month) and finalize the complaint. www.pre-plainte-en-ligne.gouv.fr I can personally vouch for the efficacity of this system. I used it when my bike was stolen. It makes making a complaint quite si…

Sh… A Speak Easy puzzle of expressions

"Sh!" in English, but "chut!" in French. Expressions certainly do not simply translate from one language to another, they are also transformed. Here's a Speak Easy collection of "sh" words in English (many of the these English words are of Yiddish origin and they are fun to say outloud due to their rather odd combination of sounds), up to you to find the French equivalents in the list. In French the Sh and sch sound are not very much used. The English section of my Harrap's has 8 pages of words beginning with these letters whereas the corresponding French section has just 25 entries. Those 25 French words are frequently derived from English: schéma, schématique, schisme, schiste, schizophrène, schlinguer, schnaps, schnock, schuss, shaker, shakespearien, shampooing, shampoiner, shampouineur, shérif, shetland, shiatsu, shinto, shit, shoot, shooter, shopping, short, show and show-business. Enjoy the this puzzle of expressions and prick up your ears to the colorful expressions o…

Views over Paris without waiting in line

For a great View over Paris without waiting in line visit The Saint Jacques Tower After ten long years of restauration the Tour Saint Jacques near Châtelet has become one of the sweetest spots for a view over Paris. The 54 meter tall tower is the last remaining piece of the Church of Saint Jacques de la Boucherie. Boucherie? Butchery? Odd as it sounds to our ears today the church was so named because in the 16th century the area was home to the butchers of Paris and thus they had their own church. The church was built between 1509 and 1523 in the flamboyant gothic style which is still quite visible on the tower in the elaborate sculptures of 13 gargoyles and other creatures plus leafy decoration. On the four corners are sculptures of Saint Jacques and animals representing three of the four evangalists: an eagle for Saint John, an ox for Saint Luke and a lion for Saint Mark. The Revolution brought an end to religious celebrations in the church and in the 1790s and it was dis…

Give blood, Blood Donors Needed in France

Every day, we need blood to accompany a woman giving birth, a person in a road accident, a cancer patient... The situations are as varied as they are regular. The voluntary and benevolent act of donating blood is therefore irreplaceable. You are irreplaceable! Please consider making a blood donation. Stocks are at record lows, 20k packets of blood short of the minimum needed. Anyone 18-70 years old can donate. If you have some time to spare, check out the official website for the nearest donation center near you. It's all done by reservation now so has become as easy and as short as 40 minutes of your time. https://dondesang.efs.sante.fr/trouver-une-collecte PS: If you've just been to the USA please note a West Nile risk has been identified for this country, and you must wait 28 days on your return before you can give blood. #Give blood

14th of July in Paris: La Marseillaise and where to watch the fireworks

Did you know? The French call their national holiday, the 14th of July, NOT Bastille Day.

The 14th of July Military parade is back, the theme this year is "Share the Flame".

There will be lots of folks lining the Champs-Elysées for the event, so bring a mask or better yet for a safer, better view, with commentary watch on TV.

Read more about the day's events on Secrets of Paris.

Where to watch the fireworks on the 14th of July fireworks with slightly smaller crowds and a panoramic view Paris west: Pont du Garigliano (as well as many of the other bridges) Paris east: The intersection de la rue Piat and de la rue des Envierges or the Parc de Belleville Paris north: Montmartre Suresnes: Mont Valérien, Terrasse du Fécheray Meudon : Terrasse de l’observatoire Saint-Cloud: Parc de Saint-Cloud, rond-point de la Balustrade also known as La Lanterne The top of the Montparnasse tower: 5…

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